We have been privileged to become witness to two political events in 14 months that most of us never imagined would happen in our lifetime. The elections of Barack Obama and Scott Brown. Two men who each in their own way took on established and entrenched Democratic Machines and each in their own right were swept into office by a voting populous demanding change.

As different and diverse as their political ideals may be there are some striking similarities in the response to these gentleman’s elections from the opposing Party:

1. OMG!!! It’s the coming Apocalypse for America.

2. The downplaying of the significance of their “Historical” win’s by some of the opposing party’s Leadership.

Before the confetti could be swept up from the floor of Scott Brown’s victory party the Liberal and Democratic Talking Heads were spewing forth their repetitive Talking points:

1. This was a referendum backlash vote against President Obama’s love affair with Wall Street Bankers.

2. Democrats stayed home to protest the perceived lack of support for the Public Option from the White House.

3. The Democratic Party Candidate Martha Coakly ran a lousy campaign.

4. Most people decide whom they vote for based on the Economy and Unemployment #’s (jobs).

The day after the election there was Howard Dean on MSNBC spouting off poll numbers of Democrats who didn’t vote in the election. He claimed that 80% didn’t vote because the Public Option had been removed from the Senate Bill. It would seem that the poll number’s justify the new round of fear mongering agenda we are experiencing designed to stir up anger to be manipulated into disapointment in the President.

” I never vote for anyone, I always vote against.” – W. C. Fields

After spending the last few days exploring the citizen blogs connected to Massachusetts I have come to the belief that this election was much more than just than the simplistic analogies given to explain the defeat of Martha Coakly.

“Welcome To The Machine”

I love the idea of the Elder Statesmen, don’t you? The silver- haired well dressed articulate millionaire limo riding solicitorof business for his constituents bringing home the pork keeper of the parliamentary proclivities of the sacred halls of the Senate body who speaks for the “little man” .

“Furthermore, in the second Pappy O’Daniel administration, these boys is gonna be my *brain* trust.”

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is controlled by an Old Fashioned Democratic Machine connected to every level of politics from the local School Board to the two Houses of Representation in Washington D.C. with an ear to the White House. It has everything you could ask for in a well oiled Political Machine, a nationally recognizable Family name, a lovable Patriarch , Union Bosses, Newspaper Editors, Media Moguls, The local religious Hierarchy, Influential Businessmen, Powerful Lawyers and Judges, Two long standing influential millionaire professional politician United States Senators (who until ones recent demise) had a combined 71 years in the Senate, a content constituency grateful for all the Machine has done for them and their communities and of course a “scandel” or two.

The last three Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives a legislative body the Democratic Party has controlled for the last 55 years have had to resign due to scandals that resulted in their indictments.

In the last 2 years, 3 Democrats in the State Senate have been removed because of scandalous behavior. Including one caught on an FBI surveillance tape stuffing a Thousand Dollar Bribe down her bra.

Was Martha Coakley complacent in her bid for the Senate? If your the chosen one from the Machine with a 30 point lead in the Polls against your closest opponent in a Special Election, how much campaigning do you actually need to do? Besides, just how does one aggressively respond to the type of Campaign Ads shown above ?

No need to dwell on Martha’s Radio Airwave Mass Communicating gaffe’s, but even a Corn Bread Eatin Gravey Lickin Okie like myself knows you just don’t call a “Red Sox” World Series Hero a “Yankee” fan.

(besides she managed to carry Boston)

“This band of miscreants, this very evening, interfered with a lynch mob in the performance of its duty.”

On January 12th 2010 Martha Coakley attended a “Fundraiser” at Sonoma in Washington D.C. She referred to it as a “Unity Party” that was planned after she had won the primary. In attendance were numerous Lobbyist’s representing “Big Pharma” and “Big Insurance”. When questioned about the Lobbyist’s from a “Weekly Standard” reporter, the reporter was subsequently attacked, thrown to the ground and bullied by Coakley Staffer Michael Meehan, a recent Obama appointee nominated to serve on the Broadcasting Board of Governors.

Michael P. Meehan currently serves as President of Blue Line Strategic Communications, Inc. and as Senior Vice President at Virilion, a digital media company. For over two decades, Meehan served in senior roles for U.S. Senators John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, Maria Cantwell and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, two presidential campaigns, two U.S. House offices and congressional campaigns in 25 states. Mr. Meehan earned a B.A. in political science from Bates College.

The Broadcasting Board of Governors is responsible for all non-military, international broadcasting sponsored by the U.S government.

“It’s A Bird – It’s a Plane – It’s”

The 2008 MassachusettsDemocratic Primary was won overwhelmingly by Hilliary Clinton by a margin of 56.o1% to 4o.64%. Before the Super Tuesday Primary was held the upper echalons of the Machine had already thrown their support and Super Delagate status to Barack Obama. After the primary Massachusetts was one of the states where the peoples voice was ignorned by the elites of the Machine creating a controversy the DNC is still trying to address.

( Ironicly Martha Coakley was a Super Delagate who pledged to Hillary Clinton. She went against the Machine and it may be noted that in a race that was deemed vital to the DNC she recieved very little national support until it was too late)

” Oh son, for that you sold your everlasting soul?”
“Well, I wasn’t usin’ it.”

In two high profile Child Abuse cases in which Martha Coakley was the Prosecutor the parents of the abused children were forced to hire their own Attorneys to represent them in forcing the criminal charges into court. In both cases the abuser was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. One was a high profile case involving a Catholic Priest, another was the son of an influential Union Boss who was connected to Coakley’s campaign for Attorney General.(this was the curling iron case)

Coakley also failed to disclose $200,ooo in financial assets and a $12,ooo retirement account in her financial disclosure forms submitted to the US Senate in relation to her candidacy.

“The Peoples Seat”

In the Jan. 19th Special Election Debate moderator David Gergen confronted Scott Brown with these words

“Are you willing, under those circumstances, to say I’m gonna be the person, I’m gonna sit in Teddy Kennedy’s seat, and I’m gonna be the person that’s gonna block it for another 15 years”

Scott Brown responded with what will soon become a mispelled slogan on handmade signs whenever a political rally is held the next few years.

“Well, with all due respect, it’s not the Kennedys’ seat, and it’s not the Democrats’ seat, it’s the people’s seat “

This connected with quite a few people not only in Massachusetts, but the country as a whole.

“We could hire our own midget, even shorter than his” ” Wouldn’t we look like a bunch of Johnny-come-latelies, bragging on our own midget, doesn’t matter how stumpy”

1,216,865 people voted in the 2008 MassachusettsDemocratic Primary.

1,o58,682 people voted for Coakley in 2010.

1,168,107 people voted for Scott Brown in 2010.

1,108,854 people voted for John McCain in 2oo8.

1,904,097 people voted for President Obama in 2008.

If you crunch the numbers there were 786,166 less votes cast in the 2010 Special election than in the 2008 Presidential Election. John McCain recived 50,172 more votes in 2008 than Coakley in 2010. Scott Brown recived 59,253 more votes in 2010 than McCain in 2008.

When I look at these numbers it tell me there is more to the 2010 election than just Dem’s staying home in protest of the “Public Option” .

“Any change is resisted because bureaucrats have a vested interest in the chaos in which they exist.” Richard M. Nixon

[additional quotes taken from O’ Brother Where Art Thou]

addendum: I think it is important to note that while I was learning more about the political make up of Massachusetts I learned that as much as it is a “Blue” State Massachusetts has the same number of people registered Independent/3rd party as are registered Republican and Democrat.

24 Responses so far.

I’m sorry K Quark but I could never vote for a Republican. The fact that they put the interest of their party above the people of the country showed me who they really are. The mere thought that we have all these citizens of this country without nothing but emergency room care is appalling. We pay taxes just to fight wars ? This is an abominable ideology. A country’s first responsibility is to its people. We do have the right through hard work to pursue the course the constitution laid out for it’s people, but when one segment of the government obstructs just for purely political purposes then it’s time for the people to rid themselves of the blight. The primary problem is that most of the people in this country are content to be low -information voters. They like the herd mentality. Democracy is not by any means perfect, nor will it ever be. It like us is a continual work in progress.

I don’t know if you saw my last comment on the Vox Populi thread. For the most part I was being facetious because I was trying to emphasize that the Dems better accomplish something big by the midterms and definitely by 2012 or people are going to consider voting Republicans into power again.

Tiger that may sound just dandy, but how realistic is that? How progressive/liberal can a Dem. be in states like N.D, NEB., Montana, Indiana….And actually win?Or even be able to mount a viable primary challenge?
How well would one do in OK.? How well would even a Blue Dog Dem. do in OK? Or perhaps we should institute a “purity” test like the R’s have done. I think the blame should be on the Repug party not on the Democratic Party.

Maybe I’m jaded, but he wouldn’t have had my vote on the strength of his campaign ads, far too cheesy and dishonest.
Heard it all before and it just wasn’t new or even convincing and how could the voters not know that he’s sitting in the back pockets of the very people who want to bring down the HCR bill. Are the people of MA all insured and comfy or are they just too stupid to see the whole picture?
Whatever it was, there will be many who will be in for some unpleasant surprises and it will serve them right, especially the ones who stayed home thinking they were sending a message, instead of going out to vote.

Martha sounded like a lousy choice for a candidate but just look what they have now instead.

Thank you Kalima,
I wouldn’t have voted for Brown, but I would have had a hard time biting the bullet to vote for Coakley too.
One thing I learned is that most of us view Mass. as a Liberal State when it is really a Democratic State and there is a Cultural Bias of sorts being experienced there between what it considered the “Educated Class”(Harvard) and the working class(Union) Democrats. Several “Factory” towns that always voted for Kennedy went to Brown this election.

I read the same. And that’s why among the sins in my brief autopsies, I included the snide mocking of the pickup along with the Red Sox blaspheming. The viral approach with two attractive daughters and aw-shucks Ken-doll looks didn’t hurt on the brand-optics, either.

Speaking of pickup trucks (forgive me if Pepe already did this), but it reminded me of this from 2006:

If Big Insurance spent bucks it would have been in last couple of weeks of campaign… From what I read both sides ran such a huge media blitz that there were no other commercials being seen almost 24/7…

Tiger just an awesome post and you hit all the high points. You had some great critical analysis of the Democrat machine in MA.

To me Democratic Party Machine lived up to form and talked a great game during the 2006 and 2008 elections and then when it came to actually implementing the agenda they promised us they did not get it done. The biggest thing people want is results, sometimes any results to know that politicians follow up with the platform they campaign on. But no the Senate in particular did nothing. Worse the Senate played right into Republicans hands and slowed the process until it got stuck in the mud. The herd of cats could not get all the cats back in the barn and we end up with nothing but talk about being more progressive NEXT TIME. WTF? There is no next time. Dems had a year to get it done that’s all. The political capital is spent.

I only slightly disagree about one thing if the Dems used their 60 votes and got major legislation though Coakley would have probably won. But you are right all the other talk by Dean an others is pure bullshit to your average voter.

Sorry talk does not get people who want action anything.

I’m a one issue voter for the next elections. Anyone even if it’s a Republicans that can offer some form of healthcare reform has my ear. Hell even McCain probably would have passed some version of healthcare reform by now because Dems have no problem working with Repubs. Remember it was Romney a Republican that got near universal healthcare reform in MA in the first place.

I appreciate the compliment KQ. One of the reasons I wrote this piece was because many of us viewed this election as though it was a National Election more than a State Special Election,I know I did. There was good cause for that considering the consequences.
With the passing of Ted Kennedy the Machine lost it’s Patriarch and there is no Kennedy that was qualified enough to take his place. Kerry doesn’t fit the bill either.
One thing to note is that 3 Attorney Generals have run for higher office in Mass and not a single one won. Also, Coakley is from an area of the State that people in Mass. don’t vote into higher office, the last Governor from there was in the 20’s and the last Senator was early 50’s. Many people felt that Kennedy should have resigned early on in 2009 and if he had there would have been a different atmosphere and Dem’s would have kept the seat.

That’s because Obama’s is not real it’s fictional right now. Reality always trumps the unknown when people are able to put a negative spin on the unknown. The fact is the MA system is 100% private and has limited help for families.

If the bill, even the Senate bill was passed an enacted they would think differently.

javaz while researching this artcle I learned that the people of Mass are quite content with the system they have in place and with little complaints.
There are some costs issues that are being addressed and issues with wait times, but that has nothing to do with the State plan in itself than with a shortage of primary care MD’s in the US. Everyone wants to be a specialist cause thats where the money is.
I wonder if next we’re gonna see people from Mass protesting with signs that say ” Keep Your Hands Off My Uniiversal Health Care”…